Hello Dan
Could you tell us a little about your background?
Canadian born and bred, I started my career as a Mechanical Engineer in the country’s oil and gas industry. Fortunately, for me, the company I first worked for didn’t believe in ‘silos’. This meant I got to see all sides of a project through – from design to delivery. I found being able to split my time between the design office to working on-site hugely rewarding. This naturally led to my progressing into project engineering and then project management roles and eventually being certified by the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional.
In 2018 I was invited, or headhunted as you say here, by a UK-based manufacturing company to join them as Project Manager. My new company designed and manufactured heat exchangers and electric control panels for customers in all sorts of industries worldwide. The opportunity to work on international projects, with teams locally and around the world, was something I loved. And, even though I say so myself, I was really good at it.
Why did you decide to join Midstream?
Initially, it was both the similarities to my previous work and the new challenges it offered. The more I discovered about Midstream and what it had already achieved, especially winning not one, but two Queen’s Awards made the prospect of working here extremely exciting. I then met the whole team and the opportunity to work with such high performers backed by an amazing product range clinched the deal.
What excites you about your new role?
As I’ve just said, the team and the product. It’s also the chance to bring my background into play and further my experience too. Midstream already delivers excellent customer service and products. As the company grows even more, I’m excited to work to maintain and develop that excellence.
Tell us something your CV doesn’t.
My mantra – experience, grow, learn. One of my favourite authors once said ‘Specialisation is for insects’. To me that means don’t stop just because you’ve ‘made it to the top of your tree’. No matter where you’re at in your career, push and evolve. The future you will thank you for it.
What do you do in your spare time?
Loads. Football, golf, snowboarding, biking… you name it, I like to keep active. Otherwise, I’m really into traveling and exploring new countries and especially their cuisine.